tv echo

Arrow is #5 (this list is based on IMDb page views of IMDb users)... Top 10 TV Shows of 2014 [VIDEO] http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi951954969/ 1 - Game of Thrones 2 - The Walking Dead 3 - American Horror Story 4 - Orange is the New Black 5 - Arrow 6 - True Detective 7 - Sons of Anarchy 8 - Once Upon a Time 9 - The Big Bang Theory 10 - Gotham

https://twitter.com/brandonjrouth

From Spoiler TV... Arrow is #3 on this list: The @SpoilerTV Top 20 Shows of the Year - 2014 Posted by DarkUFO at Tuesday, December 16, 2014 http://www.spoilertv.com/2014/12/the-spoilertv-top-20-shows-of-year-2014.html Arrow is #2 on this list: 2014 - Year End Stats - Most Popular Shows, Videos, Articles and More Posted by DarkUFO at Tuesday, December 16, 2014 http://www.spoilertv.com/2014/12/2014-year-end-stats-most-popular-shows.html

Arrow is "Looking Safe"... The SpoilerTV Cancellation Predictor Table - 2014/15 Last Updated : 16th December 2014 http://www.spoilertv.com/2014/08/spoilertv-cancellation-predictor-table.html Arrow is "[a] sure thing" for renewal... 2015 Renewal Scorecard: What's Coming Back? What's Getting Cancelled? What's on the Bubble? By Team TVLine / October 28 2014, 11:44 AM PST http://tvline.com/2014/10/28/renewed-tv-shows-2015-renewal-scorecard-cancelled-series/5/

Arrow: Take a tour of Oliver's lair and more! On the Set Published on Dec. 15, 2014, by TV Guide

Hmm... what does SA mean by this posting on his Facebook page? https://www.facebook.com/stephenamell https://www.facebook.com/stephenamell/photos/a.510703882348217.1073741826.146921975393078/770050113080258/?type=1&theater (I did not put this in the Spoilers thread because I thought it was too vague and ambiguous to be considered a spoiler.)

I thought Ascension was pretty bad, but I don't want to prejudice anyone else against watching. The reviews appear mixed, and I can understand why people would be interested enough to keep watching.

Anyone else watch the first part of Ascension last night? That was pretty bad.

I don't think Oliver trusted Laurel not to go after Thea... or not to argue with him... or not to follow him. If I were him, I just wouldn't want the hassle of having to deal with her reaction when he only had a very limited amount of time.

I previously posted this in the Social Media thread, but I probably should've posted it here... This is a follow-up: 2014's Most Shipped Couple Is... by JENNA MULLINS Thu., Dec. 4, 2014 1:11 PM PST http://www.eonline.com/news/603497/2014-s-most-shipped-couple-is

VOTE NOW - Arrow is one of 5 shows nominated for Best Fanbase in CarterMatt Best of 2014 (voting closes Christmas Eve)... Best of 2014: ‘Faking It,’ ‘Once Upon a Time,’ ‘Supernatural’ among Best Fanbase nominees December 11, 2014 http://cartermatt.com/143921/best-2014-faking-upon-time-supernatural-among-best-fanbase-nominees/

From MTV... The 19 Best TV Couples Of 2014 by shaunna murphy 12/13/2014 http://www.mtv.com/news/2023945/the-19-best-tv-couples-of-2014/

From Entertainment Weekly... 21 Sweetest Shipper Moments of 2014 By Lanford Beard, Mandi Bierly, Samantha Highfill on Dec 12, 2014 http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20326356_20882846,00.html#30264161

This is a great interview with Katrina Law (no spoilers)... Katrina Law Talks The Midseason Finale of ARROW, Lazarus Pits, Talia Al Ghul, Flashbacks, and More! (Exclusive) Posted by: Alex Welch 6 days ago http://schmoesknow.com/katrina-law-talks-the-midseason-finale-of-arrow-lazarus-pits-talia-al-ghul-flashbacks-and-more-exclusive/32257/

Actions and fight scenes add excitement to superhero movies. But relationships - romances, bromances, and familial - are at the heart of the superhero movies that I enjoy. The Avengers didn't really have room or time for romance. It was difficult enough to allocate enough screen time to all of the disparate superheroes in one movie. However, I think the heart of that movie was not romance, but bromance. Like the classic romance, the superheroes meet and immediately can't stand each other. They are forced to work together and reluctantly develop trust and respect for each other, before eventually becoming close allies and friends. The Avengers also didn't need romance because each superhero had romance in their respective individual movies. Tony Stark had an eventual romance with Pepper Potts and a bromance with Rhodey. Thor had a romance with Jane Foster, bromances with the Warriors Three & Lady Sif, and conflicted familial relationships with his father Odin and his 'brother' Loki. Steve Rogers had a romance with Peggy Carter (incipient as it was), a beginning bromance with Sam Wilson, and a tragic bromance with Bucky Barnes.

I agree that the" three heroes" mentioned by DR mean costumed superheroes, unfortunately, because otherwise there will have been no change from before - Team Arrow has been fighting to save the city since season 1. But I thought MG had said that just putting on a costume doesn't automatically make you a superhero? So after six months of boxing lessons in her spare time (assuming she's still working full-time in the DA's office), Laurel goes from inept fighter to BC-level superhero? On the other hand, I hope the EPs don't try to speed up Laurel's transition to BC through some cheat device - like mirakuru or the Lazarus Pit. Roy shouldn't be that good either, but at least he's been training longer and training with weapons and learning offensive techniques from Oliver. If the third superhero is Ray Palmer as the ATOM, then his skills would have to come from tech (like Iron Man) unless he has secret fighting skills that we haven't seen yet. If the third superhero is Ted Grant as Wildcat, then he's still just an expert boxer and should be no more capable in the field than Diggle, a military veteran. Thea? I'm not sure about her being the third superhero. Oliver would be spending all his time in the field trying to protect her, and from her awkward fight scene with the Arrow in the last episode, she's not quite up to par yet anyway. Someone here once suggested that they should shorten Arrow's season to 13 episodes and spin off Black Canary and the Atom into their own shows, each 13-episodes long. I agree. Poor SA would get a break and could take on other acting projects during his hiatus. Then I could watch 13 episodes of Arrow that focused on Oliver and Team Arrow, and then change the channel when the other two shows were on.

DR said in that panel that when they were shooting the pilot, there was a lot of pressure (esp. on SA) because they were trying to do something that hadn't been done before on TV and everyone was comparing their show to Smallville, while they were really inspired by Nolan's Batman. While I don't want to see a Smallville 2.0, I think they miscalculated in trying to model Arrow too much on Nolan's Batman movies. There's a difference between going to see a dark-themed superhero movie in the theatres once or twice a year and tuning in every week to see a dark-themed superhero TV show. Like many people, I have a lot of stress in my real life and I watch TV for entertainment and enjoyment. While I enjoy darker shows mixed in with lighter shows for my TV viewing, there's dark and there's too dark. I don't want to watch TV to become sad and depressed every week. Arrow has had too many deaths of characters I liked (Tommy, Shado, Moira, Sara). Oliver is being made into too much of a doomed and martyred character who can never be happy - that has to change. I also watch Gotham and enjoy it even though it is a dark show. However, it has spots of humor and small victories. I also know that Bruce Wayne will grow up to become Batman and defeat the bad guys. I know Jim Gordon will survive to become Commissioner Gordon and retain his decency. On Arrow, I don't know anything anymore. Oliver is so different from the comics' Green Arrow, his story is different, the other characters are different, even the Green Arrow comic book canon is being revised as the series progresses (esp. in introducing John Diggle and the new version of Felicity Smoak). So I don't know if the EPs will end up with Oliver living happily ever after or dying in a blaze of glory.

I'm ambivalent about the possible introduction of the Lazarus Pit. On the one hand, if it is used to bring back Oliver with enhanced abilities, then it will make him more equal to other superheroes who have superpowers. On the other hand, the Lazarus Pit could be used to speed up Laurel's journey toward becoming a competent Black Canary (maybe used to save her after she is mortally wounded while ineptly fighting) - which would be a cheat and disrespect what Oliver and Sara had to go through.

I'm feeling a bit down about Arrow right now. So I'm resurrecting this July 2014 interview in which MG said that Oliver and Felicity have had a connection since Episode 3 of the first season and have had this connection for 43 episodes: http://www.tvfanatic.com/videos/marc-guggenheim-comic-con-q-and-a/?PageSpeed=noscript Also, watching this video makes me happy:

I think DR was just trying to be funny. He made fun of SA's hand twitch and archery excuse as well. I also hope he doesn't get in trouble for it.

Yeah, jbuffyangel's review was great. I debated whether to put it in this thread or the Media thread, but ultimately decided to put it in the Media thread because she analyzes a lot of aspects of "The Climb" episode. I had the same problem with a few reviews of that same episode that really focused on Oliver or Oliver & Felicity..

I agree with just about all of this review... Arrow S03E09: What Worked, What Didn't, and What Needs To Happen Next By Laura Hurley December 13, 2014 2:31 PM MST http://www.examiner.com/article/arrow-s03e09-what-worked-what-didn-t-and-what-needs-to-happen-next

I just watched the hour-long video of David Ramsey at the Phoenix Comicon 2014 Fan Fest (posted in the Spoilers thread) - he's so funny and so insightful... the quotes are my rough transcriptions from the video... On Felicity: "But the show really, really needed Felicity. And she was really a godsend - really, I mean, it was just me and Stephen brooding. Every. Single. Week. It was just - 'I'm gonna go kill 'im.' 'No, you can't. Life is more important than that, Oliver. You don't know what killing people does to the soul.' So thank God for Felicity. She came and brought some light to the Foundry. Otherwise, it just would've been, you know... And actually, to be honest with you, in terms of her personality, the character - her character's kind of more of a fit for The Flash - to be honest with you, just in terms of how they write, but, um, she's needed more where she is on Arrow. Thank God for her." Comparing Diggle to Oliver: "Diggle is Oliver three years later. He's already had his crucible. I always say that. His Afghanistan was his crucible, you know. And Oliver has yet to, uh, fully adjust to his crucible, which was the island. So ultimately that will be Oliver, right? Ultimately, hopefully he will be who Diggle is - a guy who's, who's okay with fighting crime and putting his life on the line and has a wife and a child.... Did you see the look on Oliver's face when he came to the hospital and baby Sara was born and he was just like - (DR makes face) - I know, that was all Stephen face, he was like 'I want that, I want that.' You know, so ultimately that's where that character's going and, you know, if everything works out, I guess it will be with Felicity." (Audience cheers). On Diggle: "Diggle says the stuff that you guys are thinking.... And he's probably the most fully adjusted character on the show." On Diggle's frequent frustration with Oliver's blind spots: "'I can't believe I'm risking my life for this idiot.' Sometimes I think he actually does think that." On Diggle's attachment to Oliver: "He's the brother that he couldn't save - Andy Diggle.... Andy's the brother that he couldn't save, and Oliver's the brother that he can save." On the Suicide Squad: "There's a big Suicide Squad episode coming up. At least one, maybe even two, this upcoming second half of this season. And HIVE, um, the fourth season." On what would make Oliver happy: "I think, for Diggle, he'd be like, 'Get w/Felicity, homie!'" (Audience cheers). On why Diggle's an Olicity shipper: "Diggle's always been about you have to get your humanity, right? 'You can't go around killing people, Oliver. It breaks a part of your soul off. Get with Felicity because you love her.' ... The thing about Felicity, and I think the reason why he wants them together, is because Diggle has always tried to push Oliver into being, um, being more in touch with his humanity, and he is truly, honestly in love with Felicity. So I think - unlike the other 578 women that he's slept with in Starling City. (Audience and DR laugh). I always laugh about that because I'm like, 'Felicity, I know you love Oliver, but didn't you see all these women he slept with?'... In terms of what he would want to make Oliver happy, I think he would want Oliver to embrace his humanity. And I think a big part of that would be embracing the relationship that he could potentially have with Felicity." OMG - you have to watch DR doing impressions of the other cast members (CH, SA, EBR, KC, PB) saying "I have to go to the store and get some milk" (starting at around 29:28 of the video) LOL, his impression of KC saying that line is a blank face while he says the line, and then DR waves his hand over his face and says "no movement". I can't believe he did that.

I'm still thinking about Maseo's presence during Oliver's fight with Ra's. Presumably Ra's selected who would be present. Nyssa's presence is understandable. But Ra's would pick someone he trusted. Maseo only joined the LOA a few years ago. Ra's would've investigated Maseo before allowing him to join the LOA. So Ra's should know about Maseo's history with both ARGUS and Oliver. So why would he pick Maseo to be the only other witness at that fight? Someone floated the theory that Ra's deliberately didn't skewer Oliver through the heart but wanted Oliver to survive for some reason. Perhaps he knew that Maseo would help Oliver?

I'm not sure how I feel about Arrow becoming a multiple superhero show (4 superheroes!). As I've said before, the more masked & costumed characters you have running around the city, the more it feels less like a real world and more like a comic-con fantasy world. And the less real the world seems, then the less real the characters seem - which reduces the emotional stakes (at least for me). I don't want to watch a show called Arrow that doesn't have Oliver in it. But I also don't want to watch a show called Arrow that alternates stories among multiple superheroes. It would be like adding the Flash to Arrow (instead of giving the Flash his own show) and still calling the show Arrow.